Title: Kinematics Author: Paul Jennings Grade Level: 12 Course: Physics
Purpose of Unit:
The purpose of this unit is to introduce students to the study of motion. Kinematics is traditionally the starting point in physics for a variety of different reasons. Firstly, it presents physics as the 'study of motion' and with that introduces the students to the key concepts of velocity, displacement and acceleration. Secondly, since kinematics can be used to predict projectile motion to a reasonable degree of accuracy in a real world application it will give the students a real world reason for continuing their study of physics. These are the two primary goals of this unit: develop the language that we use to describe motion and provide motivation to the students that these seemingly abstract equations actually have real world application. In order to achieve these goals it is necessary to develop problem solving techniques (both in solving word problems and in navigating guided inquiry labs), to assess each student's level of competency in algebraic solutions, and ease of use with their calculators. Above all else, the class must establish from the get go an atmosphere that encourages students to ask questions and to take (academic and intellectual) risks. As an instructor my guiding thought as I have designed this lesson has been 'How does this activity foster understanding in my students?' To this end a large percentage of the unit is taken up with hands on activities that attempt to force students to predict outcomes using preconcieved notions and then to analyze whether their predictions were correct and then to attempt to modify their concept accordingly. However, it is important to keep in mind that since this is the very first unit in the course much of the problem solving and metacognition techniques will be modelled by the instructor. The goal of this is to scaffold these techniques into the course so that by the end of the course students will be able to apply these techniques independently.
Learning Performances and Standards:
PS3 (9-11)- 8 Question: Why is this a weird font, how can i fix this? Students demonstrate an understanding of forces and motion by… 8a predicting and/or graphing the path of an object in different reference planes and explain how and why (forces) it occurs. 8b using modeling, illustrating, graphing explain how distance and velocity change over time for a free falling object.
Outline, Concept Map, or other Graphical Representation of the Concepts Addressed in the Unit
Students will complete homework assignments every night to assess whether they are able to apply what they learned in class independently. These assignments will either be graded by the students at the beginning of class the next day or passed in to be graded by the teacher. Every 5 days a quiz will be given that assess the students on what they have learned in those 5 days. Each week will have a lab and associated lab report which will be graded by the instructor. At the end of the unit a unit test will be given that will incorporate all the concepts across the entire unit.
Rationale
-The study of kinematics is foundational. Without an effective understanding of the concepts of motion the students will be hard pressed to understand any of the later topics.
-Students will learn to keep an on demand laboratory notebook as opposed to a formal extended writing lab report
-Students will be introduced to guided inquiry based laboratory assignments
-It is vital the students accurately assess and replace long held 'intuitive' misconceptions about motion
Author: Paul Jennings
Grade Level: 12
Course: Physics
Purpose of Unit:
The purpose of this unit is to introduce students to the study of motion. Kinematics is traditionally the starting point in physics for a variety of different reasons. Firstly, it presents physics as the 'study of motion' and with that introduces the students to the key concepts of velocity, displacement and acceleration. Secondly, since kinematics can be used to predict projectile motion to a reasonable degree of accuracy in a real world application it will give the students a real world reason for continuing their study of physics. These are the two primary goals of this unit: develop the language that we use to describe motion and provide motivation to the students that these seemingly abstract equations actually have real world application. In order to achieve these goals it is necessary to develop problem solving techniques (both in solving word problems and in navigating guided inquiry labs), to assess each student's level of competency in algebraic solutions, and ease of use with their calculators. Above all else, the class must establish from the get go an atmosphere that encourages students to ask questions and to take (academic and intellectual) risks. As an instructor my guiding thought as I have designed this lesson has been 'How does this activity foster understanding in my students?' To this end a large percentage of the unit is taken up with hands on activities that attempt to force students to predict outcomes using preconcieved notions and then to analyze whether their predictions were correct and then to attempt to modify their concept accordingly. However, it is important to keep in mind that since this is the very first unit in the course much of the problem solving and metacognition techniques will be modelled by the instructor. The goal of this is to scaffold these techniques into the course so that by the end of the course students will be able to apply these techniques independently.Learning Performances and Standards:
PS3 (9-11)- 8 Question: Why is this a weird font, how can i fix this?Students demonstrate an understanding of forces and motion by…
8a predicting and/or graphing the path of an object in different reference planes and explain how and why (forces) it occurs.
8b using modeling, illustrating, graphing explain how distance and velocity change over time for a free falling object.
Outline, Concept Map, or other Graphical Representation of the Concepts Addressed in the Unit
Lesson Sequence
Day 1: Why do we study motion?
Day 2: What does graphing motion tell us?
Day 3: Does direction matter?
Day 4: What happens if an object is changing its motion?
Day 5: What have we learned about motion? (skipped)
Day 6: What do our graphs tell us about the equations of motion?
Day 7: How can we use these equations to predict motion?
Day 8: What happens when an object is falling?
Day 9: How can we use these equations to predict freefall motion?
Day 10: What have we learned about the equations of motion? (skipped)
Day 11: What happens if an object is moving in TWO directions? (skipped)
Day 12: What if the object is launched at an angle? (skipped)
Day 13: What if the object is launched at an angle?x2 (skipped)
Day 14: What have we learned about 2-d motion? (skipped)
Day 15: Bull's eye Competition
Day 16: Kinematics Unit Test (skipped)
= 1100 mins
Assessment Plan
Students will complete homework assignments every night to assess whether they are able to apply what they learned in class independently. These assignments will either be graded by the students at the beginning of class the next day or passed in to be graded by the teacher. Every 5 days a quiz will be given that assess the students on what they have learned in those 5 days. Each week will have a lab and associated lab report which will be graded by the instructor. At the end of the unit a unit test will be given that will incorporate all the concepts across the entire unit.Rationale
-The study of kinematics is foundational. Without an effective understanding of the concepts of motion the students will be hard pressed to understand any of the later topics.-Students will learn to keep an on demand laboratory notebook as opposed to a formal extended writing lab report
-Students will be introduced to guided inquiry based laboratory assignments
-It is vital the students accurately assess and replace long held 'intuitive' misconceptions about motion